GLENDALE, Ariz. — The surprise participant of the Final Four received some unexpected — and unwelcome — news when it arrived in Arizona.

Seventh-seeded South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell, the SEC Player of the Year, was unable to practice Thursday, because of an illness, and spent the day resting at the team hotel.

Thornwell, who is averaging 25.8 points in four NCAA Tournament games, does not appear to be in danger of missing Saturday’s game against No. 1 seed Gonzaga, though.

“He had a little body temperature when we landed, and he was a little better [in the] morning, but I kind of told our trainer, ‘Just feed him fluids, do what doctors do and let him rest rather than stress him right now,’ ” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. “He’s our most intelligent player. And I don’t mean to say that demeaning the other guys. He understands basketball at a high, high level. He doesn’t need to be on the practice court to understand what we’re doing.”

The news seemed to surprise some of the South Carolina players, who had no idea their star was sick until he wasn’t at the team dinner Wednesday night.

“I sat right next to him on the plane. He was asleep,” freshman Rakym Felder of Brooklyn said. “He was snoring loud in my ear.”

Frank Mason IIIAP

Frank Mason III’s career ended last week without him ever reaching the Final Four, but the Kansas guard secured his legacy Thursday by becoming the first player in school history to be named the AP Player of the Year. Mason is the fourth straight senior to win the award, following Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky and Creighton’s Doug McDermott.

Mason, who was the only unanimous selection to the AP All-American first team, led the Jayhawks to 31 wins this season and a second straight Elite Eight appearance, averaging 20.9 points and 5.2 assists while shooting over 47 percent on 3-pointers. Mason is the only player in Kansas history to average more than 20 points and five assists in a season. Mason is the first Big 12 Player to win the award since Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (2009).

Gonzaga and third-seeded Oregon received a surprise visit from Kobe Bryant on Wednesday night at their hotel. Both thought they were scheduled for a late-night film session and instead met the future Hall of Famer.

“That was the last thing any of us expected,” Gonzaga freshman Zach Collins said. “He’s a good dude. He took pictures with all of us, gave us shoes. We were all just shocked. They were starstruck. Our jaws were on the floor.”

Gonzaga’s Mark Few was named the AP Coach of the Year, having led the Bulldogs to a 36-1 record and the first Final Four in school history. Few, who has led Gonzaga to the NCAA Tournament in each of his 18 seasons there and has a 502-112 lifetime record, is the first West Coast Conference coach to win the award since San Francisco’s Bob Gaillard (1977).